Workers at TJ Maxx and Marshalls are wearing police-like body cameras. Here’s how it’s going

Fish [Indiana]@midwest.social to News@lemmy.world – 275 points –
Workers at TJ Maxx and Marshalls are wearing police-like body cameras. Here’s how it’s going | CNN Business
cnn.com

Retail chains like TJX, the parent company of TJ Maxx and Marshalls, are equipping some store employees with body cameras to deter shoplifting and improve safety. This is part of a growing trend in the retail industry, as stores respond to an increase in organized retail theft and violence against workers. However, some criminologists and worker advocates argue that body cameras are unlikely to be an effective deterrent and that retailers should focus on improving training, staffing, and other safety measures instead. There are also concerns that the body camera footage could be misused, such as to monitor and discourage union organizing. Overall, the implementation of body cameras in retail is a complex issue with pros and cons that retailers will need to carefully consider.

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Don't forget to turn on your body cam before clocking in!

Yeah, I feel like this is more about keeping tabs on the employees instead.

And who is going to pay who for watching all that video?

You just have AI transcribe everything that's said, and you just have some software highlight anything that includes keywords associated with unions, and send a report to HR periodically.

They legally can’t require you to do that. They can only require it to be on your person, as part of uniform, prior to clocking in. Operating the camera is considered a compensated task.

Yet some supervisor or manager will argue that you "have to turn it before you clock in to make sure that it records everything." Wage theft is nothing new.

They can say that. I’m just saying the employees will win a class action suit if they do.

If they want to protect the company against time theft, they can install a camera near the time clock.

That camera wouldn't help because wage theft isn't a crime that employees can do. By definition only an employer can commit wage theft because wage theft is stealing from employees.

Using the time clock incorrectly isn't wage theft.
Not paying holiday pay or paying below minimum wage is wage theft.

You’re right. It’s time theft. I repeated what was written above without thinking. Thank you for the correction. I’ll edit for clarity.